Published: Wednesday, September 25, 2013 at 05:58 PM.

The 35-year-old opened the door of his apartment and went to the kitchen to tidy up to prepare for dinner with his wife and nearly 2-year-old son. He lit a candle, fed the dog.

After dozens of surgeries, countless hours of physical therapy and living out of a suitcase for years, Deslauriers, a triple amputee, is glad for the simple pleasures of home.

A few weeks ago, nearly two years after the explosive ordnance technician lost both legs and part of his arm in a bomb blast in Afghanistan, he left Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and returned to Northwest Florida.

“My life had to go on or I was going to go crazy,” he said earlier this week.

He expertly maneuvered his power-assist wheelchair around the kitchen island and past an obstacle course of children’s toys to the couch and hopped on.

On Sept. 23, 2011, Deslauriers, who was then assigned to the 1st Special Operations Civil Engineer Squadron at Hurlburt Field, was trying to rescue an injured Marine in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He took off on foot to clear a path to the man, provide medical care and then clear the way to help carry him to a medical helicopter nearby.

He then raised his hand and ordered other personnel to stay back until he could secure the area.

He disabled one bomb and conducted post-blast analysis on three others that already had exploded. As he was checking one of them, he stepped on a buried initiation system and a fifth bomb exploded.

The blast blew off both his legs above the knee and severely mangled his left hand.

He was rushed to Walter Reed where he was met by his wife, Lisa, who was seven months pregnant. Their son, Cameron, was born in the hospital in between months of surgeries.

Then started the long process of learning to walk again, this time on prosthetic legs.

Recently, Deslauriers began to feel he had reached the pinnacle of his care at the medical center. He was ready to get on with his life.

“We wanted to be a part of something again and here feels like home for us, versus being just another number up in D.C.,” he said.

Now, he spends about eight hours a day in the Athlete’s Performance program at the Andrews Institute in Gulf Breeze, an Eagle Fund initiative for wounded warriors.

Much of the rehab is designed to get him to walk more in his prosthetics.

His legs have microprocessor knees to allow for more movement, but they are a challenge, especially in hot weather. It gets sweaty inside the half-inch-thick liners, and it takes a lot of strength to control them.

It’s easier to get around in his wheelchair, but Deslauriers has set a goal to wear the legs six to eight hours a day.

Wearing them is not about appearances, though.

“It’s not like I really want to blend in,” he said. “I’m always going to stick out like a sore thumb, anyway. I don’t really care about that anymore.”

What he would like is to be able to take a walk with his wife and hold her hand. Or maybe take the dog for a stroll. Or wear pants.

When he returned to Destin, Deslauriers wasted no time getting back to work. A few days after he arrived, he started his new job as manager of the Air Force Special Operations Command EOD program at Hurlburt. The job doesn’t conflict with his time at the Andrews Institute.

“I’ve been rehabbing my body so much it’s nice to get back to using my brain,” he said.

After 15 years in the field, Deslauriers said he is glad to return to EOD, the only career he’s known.

He and his family have another milestone to anticipate. The organization Building Homes for Heroes is planning to break ground next month on a new house for them.

“We’ve been in limbo for two years,” he said. “We want a place to call our own, to have a home for Cameron and hopefully for our future children when we expand our family. We’re ready to set down some roots.”

The 35-year-old opened the door of his apartment and went to the kitchen to tidy up to prepare for dinner with his wife and nearly 2-year-old son. He lit a candle, fed the dog.

After dozens of surgeries, countless hours of physical therapy and living out of a suitcase for years, Deslauriers, a triple amputee, is glad for the simple pleasures of home.

A few weeks ago, nearly two years after the explosive ordnance technician lost both legs and part of his arm in a bomb blast in Afghanistan, he left Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and returned to Northwest Florida.

“My life had to go on or I was going to go crazy,” he said earlier this week.

He expertly maneuvered his power-assist wheelchair around the kitchen island and past an obstacle course of children’s toys to the couch and hopped on.

On Sept. 23, 2011, Deslauriers, who was then assigned to the 1st Special Operations Civil Engineer Squadron at Hurlburt Field, was trying to rescue an injured Marine in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He took off on foot to clear a path to the man, provide medical care and then clear the way to help carry him to a medical helicopter nearby.

He then raised his hand and ordered other personnel to stay back until he could secure the area.

He disabled one bomb and conducted post-blast analysis on three others that already had exploded. As he was checking one of them, he stepped on a buried initiation system and a fifth bomb exploded.

The blast blew off both his legs above the knee and severely mangled his left hand.

He was rushed to Walter Reed where he was met by his wife, Lisa, who was seven months pregnant. Their son, Cameron, was born in the hospital in between months of surgeries.

Then started the long process of learning to walk again, this time on prosthetic legs.

Recently, Deslauriers began to feel he had reached the pinnacle of his care at the medical center. He was ready to get on with his life.

“We wanted to be a part of something again and here feels like home for us, versus being just another number up in D.C.,” he said.

Now, he spends about eight hours a day in the Athlete’s Performance program at the Andrews Institute in Gulf Breeze, an Eagle Fund initiative for wounded warriors.

Much of the rehab is designed to get him to walk more in his prosthetics.

His legs have microprocessor knees to allow for more movement, but they are a challenge, especially in hot weather. It gets sweaty inside the half-inch-thick liners, and it takes a lot of strength to control them.

It’s easier to get around in his wheelchair, but Deslauriers has set a goal to wear the legs six to eight hours a day.

Wearing them is not about appearances, though.

“It’s not like I really want to blend in,” he said. “I’m always going to stick out like a sore thumb, anyway. I don’t really care about that anymore.”

What he would like is to be able to take a walk with his wife and hold her hand. Or maybe take the dog for a stroll. Or wear pants.

When he returned to Destin, Deslauriers wasted no time getting back to work. A few days after he arrived, he started his new job as manager of the Air Force Special Operations Command EOD program at Hurlburt. The job doesn’t conflict with his time at the Andrews Institute.

“I’ve been rehabbing my body so much it’s nice to get back to using my brain,” he said.

After 15 years in the field, Deslauriers said he is glad to return to EOD, the only career he’s known.

He and his family have another milestone to anticipate. The organization Building Homes for Heroes is planning to break ground next month on a new house for them.

“We’ve been in limbo for two years,” he said. “We want a place to call our own, to have a home for Cameron and hopefully for our future children when we expand our family. We’re ready to set down some roots.”